2011 CPEO Brownfields List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:19:35 -0700 (PDT)
Reply: cpeo-brownfields
Subject: [CPEO-BIF] Senate bipartisan support for Brownfields program
 
Recent Senate hearing shows strong bipartisan support for EPA Brownfields Program

Garett Ballard-Rosa
Smartgrowth America
October 24, 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program has a proven track record of creating jobs while cleaning up some of the nation’s most polluted sites. A hearing in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last week illustrated that even in a contentious political climate, this track record has helped earn the program strong support from both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.

Touting the success of the decade-old program – which provides funding and training to clean up contaminated sites across the country – Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) highlighted that “these cleanups have created more than 72,000 jobs and attracted more than $17 billion in private investment.” Describing how brownfield cleanup is often the catalyst for new investment in the community, Senator Lautenberg added that “once brownfields are rehabilitated, they often spark neighborhood revitalization, boost property values and make communities more attractive places to live, work and do business.”

In a show of bipartisan support, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Environmental and Public Works Committee, also praised the benefits of the program while offering suggestions about opportunities for improvement. In particular, Senator Inhofe drew attention to how brownfield redevelopment creates opportunities for local economic development and job creation by bringing vacant and stagnant properties back into meaningful use. The Senator from Oklahoma used an example from his home state to show how the Brownfields Program has been successful in increasing economic opportunities.


...

For the entire article, see
http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org/2011/10/24/recent-senate-hearing- shows-strong-bipartisan-support-for-epa-brownfields-program/

See also
http://www.c-span.org/Events/Senate-Environment-amp-Public-Works- Subcommittee-Joint-Hearing-on-Brownfields-Program/10737424906/ http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm? FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_id=ff7033b9-802a-23ad-4644- ab413507d651

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope Street, Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650-961-8918 or 650-969-1545
Fax: 650-961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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